Panelized, edge-connected, modified-rhombic triacontahedral structures

ABSTRACT

A building system comprised of panelized, modified rhombic triacontahedral structures further comprised of panels continuously connected along their edges by connectors whose profiles allow panels to snap and slide together into strong, insulated buildings and unfasten for easy disassembly and re-use as temporary housing, storage, emergency shelter, work-camp and vacation homes. Vertical walls allow structures to be nested or mated together and allow use of standard doors, windows and fixtures. The connector is formed from extruded or cast plastic or aluminum, or formed steel. Carbon fiber or Dupont Kevlar™ reinforced resin may be used for specialized uses. The connector allows the use of a variety of standard manufacture laminated panels. The basic structure is comprised of ten identical wall panels and ten almost-identical roof panels joined by use of 35, 144° edge connectors. A minimum tripartite inventory, each of identical, easily mass produced parts, provides ease of production, shipping and assembly. The extruded plastic edge connector is easy to manufacture in relatively small scale industrial facilities. The edge connector and light-weight panel system increases efficiency, lowers costs (including foundation costs) and creates extraordinary ease of assembly and disassembly. A structure with a larger, rectangular entryway is created by use of a 126° connector along three facing edges, bisecting one lower ring roof panel and replacing two basic wall panels with two rectangular panels (or one double wide rectangular panel). This creates a structure having a wall with a larger entry capability obviating the need to otherwise increase structure size. Eliminating one entire lower roof panel; extending two wall panels to meet the upper roof ring instead of the lower roof ring and use of a 108° connector on five facing edges creates a concave building wall. The concavity is complementary to adjoining walls of a second structure and allows nesting of the structures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention pertains to enclosed structures and, inparticular, to lightweight easy-to-assemble structures.

The goal of inventing strong, light-weight, insulated structures thatare easy-to-assemble and disassemble by few people with minimalinstruction and simple tools for temporary or permanent uses has longbeen sought by designers and inventors. Rapid deployment and ease ofassembly is an absolute necessity for disaster relief situations andmany military uses.

Ease of disassembly is advantageous for temporary uses includingmilitary, disaster/refugee facilities and work-camps. In an era ofmassive natural and man-made disasters and population dislocations, theneed for quickly assembled and disassembled temporary housing andutility buildings has become more and more acute. Also, in an era ofincreasing resource scarcity, efficient use of materials; efficientmanufacture; and minimal waste are other priorities for a successfuldesign.

There have been different strategies of design with the goal ofachieving these ends. Tents have traditionally been used for temporaryhousing but lack insulation and security. For disaster relief, tents arebasically one-time-use devices because ultraviolet radiation, strongwinds and chemical rain take their toll on the cloth. A more permanent,substantial, re-useable structure is needed for many uses.

To improve the strength-to-weight ratio over "conventional" structures,regular polyhedra and crystalline geometric shapes have historicallybeen used. A large number of patented structures have attempted (withvarious amounts of success) to use a variety of non-standard shapes andspecially manufactured parts to achieve ease of manufacture, assemblyand light weight.

The geodesic domes of R. Buckminster Fuller (U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,235);the rhombic triacontahedral structures of Steve Baer (U.S. Pat. No.3,722,153) (which he dubbed "Zomes"); the modified rhombictriacontahedral structures of Fred Golden (U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,467); andthe crystalline structures of Fred Golden (U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,750) arethe most relevant examples to the instant device. All of these patentsare variations on the same basic theme.

However, Fuller and most other dome designs require separate frame andskin assemblies similar to "standard" construction which precludes theiruse where maximally quick, easy assembly is required. In domicalstructures, curved walls create unfamiliar spaces for habitation andmake it difficult to use standard doors and windows.

Panelizing structures, even conventional structures, has many advantagesin reducing total parts, improving strength and easing assembly.Golden's panelized rhombic triacontahedron (U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,467) isan example of an "alternative" geometric structure of panelized design.Another example is the Deca Dome constructed by applicant in Ann Arbor,Mich. and featured in Fine Homebuilding, April/May, 1988.

Fuller's "Dymaxion Dwelling Unit" discussed in The Dymaxion World of R.Buckminster Fuller was an early use of both panelizing and alternativegeometry. Its failure to achieve wide-spread usage is an issue forhistorians. Although it required quite expensive tooling to produce, itwas not out of the reach of a large industrial concern and its potentialpromise was never fulfilled.

Golden's patents use panels and connectors, continuously connected attheir edges, in his crystalline units (U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,750). Howeverthe irregular, angular walls again make standard doors and windowsdifficult and complicate assembly. The Vertical-walled, RhombicTriacontahedral structures of Golden (U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,467) solvenumerous problems by incorporating the frame; interior and exteriorwalls into a panel-and-connector system. The prior art fails to disclosea structure that is truly easy to assemble and disassemble yetinsulated, substantial and secure enough for permanent and temporaryuses and manufactured from an absolute minimum of differing parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A building system comprised of panelized interconnectable, modifiedrhombic triacontahedral structures comprises wall and roof panelscontinuously connected along their edges by connectors whose profilesallow panels to snap and slide together to form a building and unfastenfor easy disassembly and re-use to form a building at a new location.

A regular rhombic triacontahedron has 30 identical rhombic facets whichform a spheroid. The invention disclosed herein, in its most basicconfiguration, is a 2/3 rhombic triacontahedron (i.e. 20 facets). Theinvention modifies the regular rhombic triacontahedral shape byutilizing ten facets as roof panels and ten elongated vertical panels aswalls. The ten rhombic facets which form the roof are five upper roofring panels and five lower roof ring panels. Ten vertical panels formthe walls by elongating the rhombi and cutting the bottoms horizontallywhere they meet the ground or foundation. Wall height and, therefore,roof height is variable as required by the intended use of thestructure. Removing the top tips of the five upper roof ring panelscreates an opening for a skylight and ventilation.

The "basic" structure uses 20 panels connected by 35 connectors withprofiles angled at 144° to create a structure whose footprint is adecagon. The polyhedron created has all dihedral angles of 144°. Theresult is a strong, light-weight structure of aerodynamic shape whichresists lifting-off in cross winds. Most wind conditions, even highwinds, push the structure downward due to the shape of the roof andaerodynamic walls.

A relatively large rectangular-faced building wall is created byreplacing two adjacent wall panels with one double-wide rectangularpanel, bisecting one lower roof panel and using 126° connectors on threepanel edges.

A structure with one pair of concave walls is created by eliminating oneof the lower roof ring panels; extending two adjacent wall panels to theheight of the lower edges of two upper roof panels and joining the tworoof panels to the walls and to the concave wall panels using 5, 108°connectors.

Both optional designs create room for taller doorways than the basicstructure with minimal loss of floor area and provide some visual relieffrom the basic structure's regularity.

Structures may be connected face-to-face or nested. Sealing joints forweather-tightness between basic structures requires a flexible gasket.

The connector's shape allows any type of stress-skin or solid panel tobe used. The preferred embodiment uses extremely light weight foam-corepanels with thin skins of hard, high tensile strength material such asplastic or aluminum. Greater impact resistance may be created by usingsteel skins although increased weight reduces portability. Projectileresistance may be created and light weight retained by using highmolecular density plastic skins such as Dupont Kevlar™, reinforced resinand connectors of carbon fiber reinforced composites. Such highperformance materials increase cost.

Connectors may be fastened to panels at the factory using permanentfasteners. When the building is assembled at the site, the open side ofthe connector is attached to a matching panel. When all wall panels areassembled, a pair of compression rings (nylon straps, each with atensioning device) around the perimeter of the structure at the base andtop of the wall panels retains the panels in place for temporary use.Permanent structures add fasteners or permanent adhesive to eachconnection.

Velcro® (hook and loop) fasteners on wall panels and mating Velcro® onthe short arm of the connector profile assist speedy assembly anddisassembly of the walls. Two-sided tape; adhesive backed gasket; ormechanical fasteners of various types may also be used to fasten andseal panels and connectors depending on the permanence and seal desired.Rivets, self tapping sheet-metal screws; and an extremely wide varietyof commercially available plastic and metal fasteners may be used toretain panels.

The short, top arm or flange of the connector allows each wall panel tobe loaded into a connector by swinging the panel into place, using theconnector as a fulcrum and unloaded by swinging the panel in the reversedirection. The last wall panel has no Velcro® or adhesive on the paneland slides into place. The short, top flange also retains each panel asthe structure is assembled.

The roof normally consists of ten full rhombic panels. Five panels formthe lower roof ring and five panels form the upper roof ring. The fiveupper roof ring panels may be altered by having the peak ends shortened.This provides an opening at the peak for a skylight/ventilator and alsoeffectively forms a "keyway" allowing the last two connectors and roofpanel to slide into place from above. Roof panels preferably do not haveVelcro® or tape on the panels and, therefore, slide into place. Gravityretains roof panels in position until they can be mechanically fastened.

The panel thickness selected by the builder or user preferably increasessomewhat proportionally with width to increase panel strength for thelarger structure. Cost per square foot of floor area is reduced byincreasing panel width because of improved surface to volume ratio.

Assembly is possible by two or three minimally trained people with twostep ladders and no special tools, on any flat surface in one to twohours. For emergency use, structures may be assembled on a driveway oron a pile of pea-gravel retained by a frame. For more permanent uses, acement floor/foundation may also be poured inside the structure after itis assembled, using the walls as a form. This process also improves theanchoring.

The instant invention improves significantly on ease of assembly andmanufacture. Whereas Golden's rhombic triacontahedral connector andpanel system requires a specially manufactured panel to mate with theconnector, the instant device uses any panel of appropriate thickness.This eliminates one specialized manufacturing step since many suchpanels are widely available. Panels need only be cut to the properdimensions as illustrated in the waste-free cutting pattern below.

Additionally, Golden's rhombic triacontahedral structures have the"male" portion on the connector and the "female" portion as part of thepanel. Reversing the sex, if you will, of the panels, and shortening onearm or flange of the connector in the instant invention, makes loadingpanels to connectors far easier. The high frictional nature inherent inthe Golden rhombic triacontahedron makes assembly of panels problematic,especially in long lengths.

The instant invention is not as inherently water-proof as Golden'srhombic triacontahedron (which does not require a separate roofmembrane). The trade-off is that the instant design dramaticallyimproves the ease of assembly and disassembly of the structure. Thesefeatures make the instant structure more adaptable for emergency useswhere maximum ease of assembly is absolutely essential. For emergencyand temporary uses, the instant invention uses a tarp forweather-proofing, shade and tie down which has advantages fordisassembly, particularly. For permanent use, any of several commercialroll-roofing membranes can be cut into ten roof tiles, adhered to theroof and sealed as on any peaked roof. For permanent structures,vertices can be sealed with a variety of sealants and capped with amolded piece. Ends of connectors must be factory mitred and beveledappropriately.

Vertical walls allow easy nesting and mating of structures in unlimitedvariations with gaskets required to seal the facing panels where thestructures join. The advantages of vertical walls include thepsychological preference which the majority of people display for themover curved or slanted walls. Vertical walls also allow use of standardwindows and doors such as those manufactured for the recreationalvehicle industry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the basic, 2/3 rhombic triacontahedralstructure;

FIG. 2 is the basic decagonal floor plan and the roof viewed from abovecomprising five lower roof ring panels and five upper roof ring panels;

FIG. 3 is the profile of the 144° connector used to create the basicstructure;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the rectangular-faced structure which createsa larger and taller panel for a doorway by bisecting one roof panel andreplacing two of the basic wall panels with one double wide rectangularpanel;

FIG. 5 is a profile of the 126° connector used to form therectangular-faced structure;

FIG. 6 is the floor plan of the rectangular-faced structure and the roofviewed from above;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the concave structure;

FIG. 8 is the concave structure viewed from above;

FIG. 9 is a profile of the 108° connector used to form the concavestructure;

FIG. 10 is a no-waste panel cutting pattern;

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate in plan view membranes for covering andsealing roof panels against water, dust and air leakage; and

FIGS. 13A and 13B are profiles of a connector and cutaway portion of apanel showing the panel being swung into the connector and being fullyengaged in the connector.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the basic domical structure comprises the ten identicalroof panels 20 and the ten identical wall panels 22. Since the wallpanels are vertical they may be of any suitable height from a levelground plane 24. The panels 20 and 22 are joined by panel connectorsalong the panel edges 26 between roof panels; panel edges 28 betweenroof panels and wall panels and panel edges 30 between wall panels.Panel edges 26 and 28 are of identical length and therefore useidentical panel connectors.

Panel edges 30 however, are dependent on wall panel edge height and,therefore, vary in height. To retain a simple tripartite inventory ofsimple parts for temporary disaster relief structures, the panel edges30 can utilize the same panel connectors as the roof either by notconnecting the full height of the edges 30 or by using two or moreconnectors per edge 30 trimmed to fit.

Illustrated in FIG. 3 is the 144° connector 32 in profile. Utilizinglightweight foam plastic panels 20 and 22 clad with aluminum or hardplastic and plastic connectors 32, any necessary doorways, windows,vents can be cut in with a simple hand key hole saw. Thus, a hugedisaster relief tripartite inventory can consist of merely roof panels20, wall panels 22 and connectors 32, each precut to one size for onesize of dome.

Illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 is relatively large, flat wall panel 34that effectively replaces two regular wall panels 22. To accommodate thelarger flat wall panel 34 three 126° connectors 36 of the profile shownin FIG. 5 are utilized to join the larger panel edges to wall panels 22at 38 and a modified roof panel 40 at 42. The modified roof panel 40 ismerely a bisected roof panel 20.

Illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 is a concave portion modified into thebasic structure. The wall panels 44 of the concave portion areconsiderably taller than the other wall panels 22 and are connected tothe basic structure of the dome by the 108° connectors 46 profiled inFIG. 9. Five 108° connectors 46 hold the taller wall panels 44 together,to the other wall panels 22, and to the roof panels 20 as indicated. Theconcave portion eliminates one full roof panel 20, however, the roofotherwise is as in the basic structure.

The 144°, 126°, and 108° panel connectors whose profiles are illustratedin FIGS. 3, 5 and 9 have a large lower supporting flange 48, atriangular hollow beam center portion 50 and shorter upper flange 52.This configuration allows easy loading and unloading of a panel byswinging or sliding panels in place as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B andmay be used in conjunction with a gasket, Velcro® or adhesive on theshort upper flange 52 facing inside the connector 26, 42 or 48.

The ratio of the length of the lower flange 48 to the upper flange 52 isapproximately 4:1. For most applications, the ratio of the length of thelower flange 48 to the panel thickness is about 1:1 for a one or twoinch thick panel. For a four inch thick panel, the ratio drops to about1:2. The throat 54 of the connector into which the panel slides isapproximately 12.5%-15% wider than the thickness of the panel to easeassembly and allow space for sealant or Velcro®.

The connectors 26, 42 and 48 may be manufactured in a rigidconfiguration or allow some flexibility of one or both the flanges 48and 52 relative to the beam center portion. Such flexibility in theflange 52 can assist in assembly where the underside 56 has Velcro®there-applied and a mating strip of Velcro® is applied to the panelsurface adjacent the panel edge.

Illustrated in FIG. 10 is a strip of wall and roof panel 58 with cuts 60indicated for forming roof panels 20 and wall panels 22 absent waste.Before or after cutting the panels, Velcro® strips 62 can be appliedadjacent the cuts 60 and edges 64. And, illustrated in FIG. 11 and FIG.12 are cover membranes for roof panels. In FIG. 11 a lower roof ringpanel membrane 66 is shown as a slightly larger rhombus than theunderlying roof panel indicated by the dashed lines 68. The membrane 66may be slit at 70 to accommodate the slight overlap when the membrane isapplied and the lower edges beyond dashed lines 68 are folded over theunderlying connectors. A permanent or temporary adhesive may be appliedto the underside of the membrane before application or Velcro® stripsmay be used to attach the membrane for temporary use.

In FIG. 12 an upper roofing panel membrane 72 is illustrated. For theupper roof ring panel membrane 72 the panel is indicated by the dashedlines 74 and the membrane extends beyond all four sides of the panel.All four corners may be slit at 76 to accommodate the slight overlap andthe membrane 72 may be applied in the same manner as membrane 66 in FIG.11. Commercial roll-roofing membranes cut to size are particularlysuitable because the wax paper backing need only be peeled off to exposethe adhesive.

I claim:
 1. A method of assembling dome structure panels to edgeconnectors, at least one edge connector comprising in profile a centralportion, a first pair of unequal length upper and lower flangesextending from one side of the central portion and a second pair ofunequal length upper and lower flanges extending from the other side ofthe central portion, each pair of flanges being spaced apart andsubstantially parallel, and the upper flange being sufficiently shorterthan the lower flange whereby the upper flange functions as a fulcrumwhen swinging a panel into full engagement with both flanges of the pairof flanges,the method comprising the steps of: placing an upper surfaceof a panel into contact with the upper flange of the at least oneconnector, the contact being parallel and closely adjacent to a paneledge to be inserted into the at least one connector, swinging the panelin a substantially rotational motion about the contact with the upperflange, the upper flange thereby serving as a fulcrum to permit thepanel edge to be placed into full engagement between the upper and lowerflanges.